So I was looking at Inara's elbows today and they look bad! Each one has a very small (think the size of a pencil eraser) spot that looks all irritated and scabby/bloody. I've always looked down at the people whose dogs have rough elbows, and now Inara has them! And they must be very tender because she won't let me fuss with them to get a picture, and that's unlike her. So I want to get her a nice bed for in her crate, something with a lot of fluff or cushion. Right now she has an old comforter of mine, but obviously it's not doing the job.

I'm really not trying to spend a lot of money. Preferably no more than $40 (including shipping), if possible. Her crate is approximately 25x40ish.

Any suggestions?

"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

I'm not really sure what you're looking for (meaning as far as a "bed") but if you have a Tractor Supply they have huge pillow beds that are also smell of cedar and mine love them, the bonus is they were $9.99..... There are other options there if you have one, a little more expensive etc. but that's normally where I snatch new ones up.

Its probably a combination of your cold dry weather I think you have and your already mentioned hard surfaces...

I'm surprised the comforter doesn't do the trick

another cheap option is a baby crib mattress, the foam is pretty thick, its rubber/plastic encased, and you can buy flannel crib sheets. I think total when I got one for Oscar it was maybe $50, which is cheap for a dog bed for a dog Oscar's size here. But I think it might be too long for the crate...

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
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"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07

Thanks for the suggestions, everybody! I'll have to look and see if I have a Tractor Supply around me...and my friend has a Costco membership so I'll ask him to take me shopping!

Malli, the comforter is about 400 years old. Alright, I lied, it's probably 15 years old, so it's pretty thin and there's not a lot of fluff left. I'd tossed it in there as a temporary measure after I tossed her old bed after the flea fiasco, and ended up just leaving it in there. Her elbows show me it's time for me to get off my butt and spoil her a bit!

Thank you!

"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

I had purchased one of the cedar beds from Tractor Supply and so did my neighbor for his dog. She liked it but Ino would not go near it. Even if I used the clicker to get him to go on it, he would only lay part way on and never rested his head on it. He also got off it as soon as I released him and would walk around it if it was in his way instead of going over it. It was a nice fluffy bed and a great price (mine sold them for $20 but it may have been a larger bed). It did irritate my allergies so I had to give it to the neighbor, which is odd because I never had any problems with cedar small animal bedding when I worked at a pet store- maybe it was just chipped up more fine or something. It may be worth the purchase if they have them cheap by you though and if you have allergies, you can toss the bedding inside and use one of those egg carton things they sell for uncomfortable human beds- they work well and you can cut them to size and put them in the other bed cover. Also, for the elbows, maybe Musher's Secret will help. I read a review on Amazon where someone said it helped heal their dog's elbows. I purchased it to protect Ino's paw pads and it seems to be working well for that.

Ino wrote:I had purchased one of the cedar beds from Tractor Supply and so did my neighbor for his dog. She liked it but Ino would not go near it. Even if I used the clicker to get him to go on it, he would only lay part way on and never rested his head on it. He also got off it as soon as I released him and would walk around it if it was in his way instead of going over it. It was a nice fluffy bed and a great price (mine sold them for $20 but it may have been a larger bed). It did irritate my allergies so I had to give it to the neighbor, which is odd because I never had any problems with cedar small animal bedding when I worked at a pet store- maybe it was just chipped up more fine or something. It may be worth the purchase if they have them cheap by you though and if you have allergies, you can toss the bedding inside and use one of those egg carton things they sell for uncomfortable human beds- they work well and you can cut them to size and put them in the other bed cover. Also, for the elbows, maybe Musher's Secret will help. I read a review on Amazon where someone said it helped heal their dog's elbows. I purchased it to protect Ino's paw pads and it seems to be working well for that.

Are you SURE it was Cedar? Long term exposure to cedar will cause small animals(and people, anyone working with cedar should wear a mask, preferably high quality) respiratory difficulty and can even cause death! They do offer Cedar Bedding for sale, but they also offer Pine, which looks very similar...

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
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"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07

another cheap option is a baby crib mattress, the foam is pretty thick, its rubber/plastic encased, and you can buy flannel crib sheets. I think total when I got one for Oscar it was maybe $50, which is cheap for a dog bed for a dog Oscar's size here. But I think it might be too long for the crate...

I have one of these as well and they work well. Cheap too since I bought mine second hand. They definatley don't fit in crates though. Moses is in the biggest 700 crate they make and it's just a bit too long for his crate. So Brody uses it (we actually have it on a child's daybed frame) since he currently gets put in an x-pen when he's put up.

The costco beds are definately cheap and I might add that they usually sell throws that are pretty nice as well. Their beds tend to go flat rather quickly which dissapoints me. If she chews at all then I'd stick with a cheap bed but if not I'd spend a little extra and just buy a nice foam style bed. They hold up so much better.

Ino wrote:I had purchased one of the cedar beds from Tractor Supply and so did my neighbor for his dog. She liked it but Ino would not go near it. Even if I used the clicker to get him to go on it, he would only lay part way on and never rested his head on it. He also got off it as soon as I released him and would walk around it if it was in his way instead of going over it. It was a nice fluffy bed and a great price (mine sold them for $20 but it may have been a larger bed). It did irritate my allergies so I had to give it to the neighbor, which is odd because I never had any problems with cedar small animal bedding when I worked at a pet store- maybe it was just chipped up more fine or something. It may be worth the purchase if they have them cheap by you though and if you have allergies, you can toss the bedding inside and use one of those egg carton things they sell for uncomfortable human beds- they work well and you can cut them to size and put them in the other bed cover. Also, for the elbows, maybe Musher's Secret will help. I read a review on Amazon where someone said it helped heal their dog's elbows. I purchased it to protect Ino's paw pads and it seems to be working well for that.

Are you SURE it was Cedar? Long term exposure to cedar will cause small animals(and people, anyone working with cedar should wear a mask, preferably high quality) respiratory difficulty and can even cause death! They do offer Cedar Bedding for sale, but they also offer Pine, which looks very similar...

I am not sure if there is actual cedar in the dog bed, but whatever they did use to give it that scent gave my sinuses hell. I know we used cedar for the mouse cages at the pet store I worked at sometimes (we sold cedar, pine and aspen) and I never had any problems with my allergies but maybe it was because the wood chips were larger, but whatever they did with the tractor supply bed, it made my allergies intolerable so it had to go. That was just my experience though- the neighbors dog had no problem with it and the neighbor did not have sinus problems (I suffer with seasonal allergies and the bed gave me the same reaction I get during warmer months).

"My first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban PERMANENTLY as soon as I take office...I intend to work with Congress on a national no carry law, 1 gun a month purchase limits, and bans on all semi-automatic guns."-Barack Obama"When in doubt, whip it out."-Nuge

I recently bought a bed from Lana and she customized it to my specifications. It looks GREAT and the whole fur family loves it. She'll even search out a fabric you like if she doesn't already have it, which is awesome.